


A lucky number

by ukenceto



Category: FFXV - Fandom, Final Fantasy XV
Genre: M/M, Multi, no betas we die like men, the boys are my OT4 but this is GladNoct centric
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-09
Updated: 2017-05-09
Packaged: 2018-10-30 01:15:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10866006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ukenceto/pseuds/ukenceto
Summary: "Stand before your god, bow before your king, kneel before your man."a.k.a. the three lessons Gladio learns throughout the journey





	A lucky number

**Author's Note:**

> Nanny Ogg's words of wisdom inspired me (and so did Gladio's DLC)  
> The plan for this is to have two more chapters, steamy stuff at the end ;)

*~*~*

Gladio never stops being utterly bewildered every time Noctis summons one of the Six to aid them in battle, and this case is no exception.

They've been wandering through the Costlemark Tower for hours now, following the rumor of another royal arm's location. However, since the moment they set foot in the massive underground structure, Gladio felt a sense of dread settle over his mind. And not only his, as it seemed; Prompto had outright stated his displeasure at the maze-like environment that kept warping back into itself, halting their progress. Even Ignis' composure seemed to crack when the elevating platforms ended up bringing them to the same room for the third time in a row, despite his careful calculations about which direction to follow this time.

But the icing of the cake was left for Noctis, whose  growing frustration led him to hurry ahead, stepping over a spot on the ground marked with a glowing eye, similar to the one they had seen in the dungeon's entrance.

A moment of darkness following the unpleasant tug at his insides, and Gladio found himself facing a very familiar set of stairs. A collective groan behind him indicated that yes, the others were there too.

"Oh man, don't tell me this means what I think it does." Prompto passed by him, kicking at the platform with the red eye, yet nothing happened.

"Better brace ourselves for a fight again. It seems we're back at the starting point." Ignis summarized, resting a hand on his hip in annoyance.

"Let's go." Reaching forward, Noctis summoned the Star of Rogue, before descending down the stairs.

Gladio followed him, and indeed, soon they were faced by a bunch of Goblins and Galvanades, which were relatively easy to take care of. What worried him the most however, were the Yojimbo they came across on their way down last time. Fighting them had taken a tow on everyone, and he could see how effects of the battle still lingered on his friends – in the stiff line of Ignis' shoulders, the way Prompto favored his left side, and how Noctis had gone even quieter than usual. If he didn't know better, Gladio would have offered them to return to the campsite, leave the dungeon for another day. But once his Highness' determination reached this state, words of wisdom were to no avail.

Taking a better grip on his shield, Gladio focused on the path which lay ahead – the long bridge that passed over the void of the inverted tower's shaft. Everyone's steps had slowed down, senses on high alert (though he could make out Prompto quietly muttering to himself  'don't look down, don't look down').

Halfway through the path, Gladio almost began hoping they had taken down all Yojimbo who guarded the place. Right as they were about to reach the other side however, he heard the unmistakable sizzling sound of a daemon materializing, followed by a tremor running through the whole bridge.

Taking position next to the Prince, he waited for Ignis' instructions, surveying each newly revealed enemy. The flare from Prompto's gun was enough to stop the two Yojimbo in their tracks for a moment,  and in a flash couple of daggers marked their weak points. Noctis was already warping over to one of them, and Gladio reached for the next, delivering a powerful strike with his sword. Yet, his blow was blocked, and he rolled to the side, avoiding the counterattack. He could see more enemies appearing at the edge of his vision, the glowing holograms Noct left behind himself after a dodge, heard his call for Ignis to perform a link-strike.

Still, the enemies only appeared to be multiplying, the narrow bridge giving the four little leeway for maneuvers. After shielding Noct from another blow powerful enough to numb his arm, Gladio realized their chances were worsening by the second.

"This is not gonna cut it!" He shouted, turning in time to see Ignis motioning for them to regroup.

"Stay here." Noct's voice sounded deeper and commanding as he raised his hand, bright light shining from his weapon. Time seemed to slow down as a deafening thunder sounded somewhere far above, amplified to a monstrous level by the Tower's structure.

Gladio watched as the ethereal glow spread from Noctis to the rest of them, the purple haze akin to thousand of sparks dancing over their skin. A shiver ran through him, the realization of what was happening calling forth deep unease and primal terror. He could only watch the crumbling stones which fell from the roof as a gigantic spear crashed down, lightning bolt crackling along it. It petrified the enemies, blazing with divine power strong enough to melt the rocks around them.

Despite the brazen display of might, Gladio knew that no harm would fall upon either of them. Noct's magic protected them, and each time he called for Ramuh, the Prince stood tall as the world burned around him. The mighty god would then look at them as if in contemplation for a moment longer, before disappearing. Once the initial shock wore down, Gladio always thought about the brass of them all, as not once they had kneeled in front of the deity or otherwise shown their worship.

Shaking his head, he pushed the thought aside, rushing to Noct's side. Summoning, much like conjuring the armiger always left Noctis utterly exhausted, and despite that the enemies were taken care of (for now) Gladio had to watch out for the Prince still.

"C'mere. Don't want you to fall in a hole or something." He joked, wrapping an arm around Noct to support him.

"I'm fine, just want to reach the end of this damn place already, so that we can go back and take a nap." Despite the weak protest, Noctis made no move to push Gladio away, even moving subtly to lean into the Shield's embrace.

"No way I'm sharing a tent with you guys after crawling through this place. We're all covered in grime." Prompto made an unsuccessful attempt to brush away the char from his face, only succeeding in smudging it even further. Ignis moved next to him, offering his handkerchief.

"There's a lake outside, as I doubt any of us would be fit to drive to the closest outpost when we get out of here."  Fixing up his glasses, Ignis cast a worried look at Noctis, who had closed his eyes. He lifted his eyebrow at Gladio in a silent question, whose reply was a shrug of his shoulders and mouthed 'he's fine'.  The whole exchange was over in a moment, but it was enough for the three of them to know that things were okay with Noct.

Patting off his clothes with a sigh, Prompto turned to the dark path which still lay ahead of them. "We better go then."

"Yeah…" Noct added, opening his eyes. Just as he was about to move away, Gladio leaned down enough to press a kiss against his temple.

"You did good. Everyone ready for this?" He asked, determination clear in his voice.

"Indeed. Onward!" Ignis joined, knowing their words had the desired effect as Noct stretched up and stood steady again.

_"Let's do this!"_

 

**Author's Note:**

> a nice song I was writing to - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BU7wX8JIZ1w  
> I'd love to hear what you think ;)


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